The Health Plus Letter
January 13, 2004, Vol. 2, No. 2
By Larry Trivieri, Jr. – founder & publisher
Table Of Contents:
What’s New
Quote of the Day
Fast Facts
Medical Freedom Alert
Self-Care Tips for Managing Stress (Part One)
The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister (Part 9)
Reader Feedback (Why I Can’t Provide Medical Advice)
Recommendations
Humor: Children’s Letters to God
What’s New
Stress affects all of us, and can be especially pronounced during the start of a new year. For this reason, I’m providing a number of self-care tips for managing stress, culled from my own experiences and the information I’ve received from a variety of leading holistic practitioners. This article will be continued next issue, as well.
I’m also continuing my tribute to my sister Andrea with the 9th installment of The Power of A Human Spirit, as well as the latest health news and commentary.
Send me your comments and suggestions. You can email me at larry@1healthyworld.com. And please spread the word about The Health Plus Letter by passing it along to your friends and inviting them to subscribe.
Quote Of The Day
"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker.”
- Dennis Waitley
Fast Facts
180,000 people die each year partly as a result of iatrogenic (caused by medical treatment) injury. The equivalent of three jumbo jet crashes every 2 days. 20% of all patients admitted to a uni/versity hospital suffered iatrogenic injury. 36 % of those admitted to a teaching hospital suffered an iatrogenic event, of which 25% were serious or life threatening. 64 % of cardiac arrests at a teaching hospital were preventable. Most were due to use of medications.
Leape LL, "Error in Medicine." Journal of the American Medical Assn. Dec. 21, 1994; 272(23): 1851-7
Medical malpractice is the 3rd leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Malpractice is responsible for the deaths of 80,000 people annually, one every 7 minutes. This does not include iatrogenic injury.
Public Citizen Magazine (A Ralph Nader Publication) 1994; May/June
"Only about 15% of all medical interventions are supported by scientific evidence. This is partly because only 1% of the articles written in medical journals are scientifically sound." D. Eddy, M.D., Ph.D. (Smith R, "Where is the wisdom?" Br. Med. J. 1991; 303(6806):798-9)
Therapeutic drug use (not illicit drug use) each year: kills as many as 198,815 people; puts 8.8 million people in hospitals; accounts for 28% of all hospital admissions; and costs as much as $182 billion dollars. (American Medical News. Jan 15, 1996, p.11)
Medical Freedom Alert
Please do your part to ensure that the misleadingly named “Dietary Safety Supplement” Act (S. 722) is defeated. To become informed about S. 722 and to take action to help defeat its passage, please visit: http://capwiz.com/nnfa/S722.html
To stay informed of other developments related to medical freedom, please visit http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org the website of Dr. Mattias Rath, a leading crusader for medical freedom.
Unabashed Plug
The Burton Goldberg eBook Library of Health is still on Sale! Currently, all 11 of the critically-acclaimed titles in this series are available for only $9.95, a savings of nearly 70% over their normal $29.95 price. This offer is in effect until the end of the month and is my way of saying thank you to all my readers for the support and encouragement I’ve received from you since I launched The Health Plus Letter and 1HealthyWorld.com earlier this year. To learn more about Burton’s eBooks, visit http://www.1healthyworld.com/ebooks.
Health News and Commentary
Chemical Found in Deodorants and Cosmetics Linked to Breast Cancer
A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology suggests that a synthetic class of chemicals commonly found in deodorant and cosmetic products may be linked to cases of breast cancer. Researchers who conducted the study examined 20 human breast tumors and discovered parabens in 18 of them, “with high concentrations in four of the malignancies.” This is the first time that parabens have been discovered within cancer tumors, and the study suggests that “the man-made chemicals have accumulated in the breast tissue after being absorbed through the skin.” The study did not reveal if parabens are also found in the breast of healthy women, nor, as yet, is it known what role, if any, parabens might play in tumor growth. For this reason, caution was urged over the results of the study. Even so, however, Dr Philippa Darbre, cancer researcher at the University of Reading, who carried out the study said: “Finding these chemicals in human breast tumours does matter, because we know from other work that they can mimic the way estrogen works to drive the growth of cancer.
“This is the first step; we need to see whether the chemicals are present in the healthy tissue and, if so, what the concentration levels are. But we have detected these intact molecules and I don't think it can be ignored.
“For years people have said there is no way they could enter the body because of our physiology, but I think it is to do with a physical overload of chemicals and that some are being absorbed by the skin. Women managed for centuries these materials and it has to be asked if we really need them now.”
For more on this story, see http://snipurl.com/3rlj
[Comment: The largest concentration of fatty tissue for women is in the breast; for men, it’s in the prostate. The incidence of both of these cancers continues to rise, as does the level of environmental pollutants known as xenoestrogens, which disrupt estrogen balance and tend to reside in fatty tissue when people are exposed to them.]
Gulf War Syndrome Linked to Vaccines
The Times of London earlier this week reported that leaked British documents “provided the first official backing that vaccines given to British soldiers before the 1991 Gulf War caused illnesses associated with Gulf War Syndrome.” According to the article, Lieutenant-Colonel Graham Howe, clinical director of psychiatry with the British Forces Health Service in Germany, made the link after the War Pensions Agency asked him to look at the case of a former lance-corporal who now suffers from Gulf War-like symptoms. The Times quoted Howe as saying in his unpublished report, dated September 2001, that "secret" injections given to the soldier "most probably led to the development of autoimmune-induced osteoporosis." He came to that conclusion because in the soldier was never sent to Iraq, yet developed symptoms consistent with other British soldiers who did serve in the initial Iraq conflict and also received the same vaccines.
For more on this story, see http://snipurl.com/3rkx
[Comment: In 1992, I had a phone conversation with the late Theron Randolph, M.D., considered the modern-day father of environmental medicine, in which he warned me that we would soon be hearing of numerous soldiers sent to Iraq who would be developing serious illness. I asked him why he believed this would be so and he replied: “Because of the cocktail of injections they gave these poor boys!” Then added that anyone reading the medical literature would quickly see that the multiple injections were contraindicated as being unsafe when given in tandem with each other. Dr. Randolph, who was in his 90s when he passed away a year or two later, did not know of the term “Gulf War Syndrome” when I spoke with him, but he certainly knew his science. As has been previously reported in this newsletter and elsewhere, similar mystery illnesses have already assailed troops involved in the current Iraqi conflict. And there’s a growing consensus among those in the military that the mandatory vaccines servicemen and women receive are at the heart of the problem, despite official denials from both the U.S. and British governments.
Recently, a U.S. judged ruled that the U.S. military did not have the right to subject servicemen and women with “unproven” vaccines. But within a few days, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked that the ruling be overturned and the military allowed to proceed as before, since it had previously approved the vaccines in question. The FDA took this action on the same day that it was making such a fuss about the dangers of ephedra and the need to place all supplements under its jurisdiction.]
The CDC Says the Flu Epidemic Has Run Its Course
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “The flu season appears to be on the decline.” Previously, the CDC had issued warnings suggesting that this year’s flu season appeared to be “epidemic” and “one of the deadliest seasons in years,” and suggested that people receive the flu vaccine as a preventive measure. In issuing their most recent statement of about this year’s flu season, the CDC also stated that the flu had killed 93 children in the U.S. so far. Of these, 55 children were under 5, and 35 children had previously been diagnosed with “chronic medical conditions.” The health status of 17 of the other children was not known. Among all children who died, "Thirty-three of the victims had not been vaccinated."
Source: The Associated Press, January 8, 2004.
[Comment: Let me see if I can do the math. 33 of the children did not get the flu vaccine. That means, by inference, that 60 children were vaccinated. Yet they died too. So why isn’t anyone calling into question the safety of the vaccine itself? Don’t hold your breath. In the meantime, the “epidemic” is past, but not before sales of Flu Mist went through the roof. Mission accomplished and we can all breathe easy until the next big media scare.]
Lawyer Warns Ephedra Ban Is Just The Start of Things to Come
Last week, attorney Marc Ullman of Ullman, Shapiro & Ullman LLP, published the following press release regarding the FDA’s ban on ephedra. Mr. Ullman keeps a close eye on legal issues involving access to dietary supplements, and I completely agree with his assessment which he outlines below:
“On December 30, 2003, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Mark McClellan announced that FDA was about to issue a regulation finding that dietary supplements containing the herb ephedra pose an unreasonable risk to human health. Both the Secretary and the Commissioner emphasized how hard it was for FDA to come up with this regulation, citing the burdens imposed on FDA by DSHEA [legislation passed in 1994 providing legal protection for the supplement industry]. Both men went on to suggest that if the regulation does not stand up to judicial scrutiny, it is incumbent upon congress to rethink the entire legal framework governing the marketing of dietary supplements. The mainstream media and members of Congress have bought into this sophistry. Because of this, many members of the supplement industry, including some of its most respected leaders, have suggested that a legal challenge to the regulation finally issued by FDA would be unwise. I respectfully disagree, and submit such an attack is inevitable.
First, as a matter of principle, it is unclear why mainstream industry needs to distance itself from companies that would challenge a regulation that will apparently ban an ingredient that has been the subject of no adverse event experiences except in situations where it is used (and abused) in combination with other stimulants? If FDA is afraid to deal with this issue because caffeine will be implicated, shame on FDA.
Second, if this regulation is issued in the form described during the HHS/FDA press conference, it will be vulnerable to attack as arbitrary and capricious - in other words not rationally related to the statute. If this comes to pass, mainstream industry MUST be engaged in the process, in the courts, in Congress and the media. If the supplement industry simply accepts the rule, the industry loses. (Does anyone really think ephedra will be the end of the matter?) If the industry accepts FDA's "logic" and withdraws from the debate, DSHEA will be substantially revised (well beyond adverse event reporting), most likely as a result of “outrage” at a court decision throwing out the proposed ephedra regulation as a result of litigation commenced by various manufacturers and distributors.
The media and Congress have already been largely convinced of the “fact” that the “irresponsible” supplement industry has taken advantage of the “deregulation of the industry by DSHEA”.One thing that appears certain, however, is that the message cannot be one that is purely reactionary – things are way too far down the road for that. Only with a positive message that accurately reflects that the supplement industry has been out in front on regulatory issues while FDA has dragged its feet (e.g., AHPA requests that FDA deal with adverse event reporting, and promulgate sensible regulations dealing with ephedra), as well as presents a rational approach to ephedra, (such as some type of restriction on products containing multiple stimulant ingredients) has any chance of
achieving a positive result.
The bottom line is that the supplement industry must communicate a message that says, in essence, if a court finds this regulation to be arbitrary and capricious, it is the FDA that is broken, not DSHEA.”
Copyright © 2004 by Marc Ullman. All rights reserved.
Self-Care Tips for Managing Stress (Part One)
Stress has been linked as a co-factor in 95% of all disease. Because of this, learning how to effectively manage stress is a hallmark of holistic medicine. The first step in doing so lies in identifying the specific stress factors that are affecting you, as well as how these stressors manifest in your life.
Types of Stress
Stress factors fall into four broad categories: physical stress, psychological stress, psychosocial stress, and psychospiritual stress.
Types of physical stress include trauma (injury, infection, surgery), intense physical labor/over-exertion, environmental pollution (pesticides, herbicides, toxins, heavy metals, inadequate light, radiation, noise, electromagnetic fields), illness (viral, bacterial, or fungal agents), fatigue, inadequate oxygen supply, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), hormonal and/or biochemical imbalances, dietary stress (nutritional deficiencies, food allergies and sensitivities, unhealthy eating habits), dehydration, substance abuse, dental problems, and musculoskeletal misalignments/imbalances.
Psychological sources of stress include emotional stress (resentments, fears, frustration, sadness, anger, grief/bereavement), mental stress (information overload, worry, guilt, shame, jealousy, self-criticism, perfectionism, anxiety, and a sense of not being in control), and perceptual stress (beliefs, attitudes, world view).
Psychosocial stress can be caused by relationship difficulties (friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, employer), lack of social support, and isolation.
Types of psychospiritual stress include a crisis of values, meaning, and purpose; joyless striving (instead of meaningful work); and a misalignment with one’s core spiritual beliefs.
Poorly or improperly managed stress takes a toll on the body and can manifest symptoms, such as headache, heart palpitations, pain, constructed throat and breathing, clammy palms, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, allergies, asthma, hypertension (high blood pressure), and gastrointestinal disorders, including diarrhea. Prolonged stress can result in suppressed immune function, increasing susceptibility to infectious and immune-related diseases and cancer. Emotional stress can also result in hormonal imbalances (adrenal, pituitary, thyroid, etc.) that further interfere with immune function.
Self-Examination and Belief Management
The first step in managing stress is to determine what factors are acting as stressors in your life. To determine the various causes of physical stress, you may need the assistance of a holistic physician/healer who can help you determine if you are being affected by the physical stressors mentioned above. If so, he or she can help you devise a health plan to eliminate or minimize your exposure to them. The stressors outlined above in the other three categories can usually be pinpointed by being honest with yourself and taking time for self-reflection. Review the lists above and ask yourself if anything within them is a factor in your life. If so (again, being honest), what steps can you take to deal with them more effectively?
Here’s a hint. Often the reason for psychological, psychosocial, and psychospiritual stress has far less to do with the stressors in those categories than it does with our beliefs and judgments about them. As a case in point, let me share a recent example from my own life. Just prior to New Year’s Eve, my car, which is only 3 years old, needed to be towed to a service station because my mechanic suspected I had a timing chain problem that could seriously damage the engine if left untreated. He’s an excellent mechanic, and therefore very busy. As a result, it took well over a week before he found time to even begin investigating what was wrong. As it turns out, I won’t have my car back for at least another few days, because he had to order parts. Given the delay, I eventually became impatient about the situation. Then I had the following dream:
I found myself walking along a busy local thoroughfare in cold, blustery weather in order to go shopping. As I found myself doing, I was immediately aware of my attitude, which was one of “no big deal.” And as I realized this, I heard my inner guidance providing the following explanation: “Nothing in life that happens to you is positive or negative, but for the way you judge it.” In other words, I am completely free to interpret - or judge - my life situations however I so choose. And it’s the choice I make that will determine if the situations I find myself in stress me out or not. Intellectually understanding and accepting this concept is one thing. Actually applying it is another! As it happens, last night I actually did find myself having to walk to the grocery store. Given the weather conditions at the time, prior to the dream, I probably would have grumbled about having to do so. Instead, I chose to make the walk through the snow and wind an adventure and really enjoyed the walk each way. In fact, I felt like a child again, recalling how much I enjoyed being out in winter storms when I was much younger. So, instead of creating harmful biochemicals from being upset about having to be out in the cold, I wound up filling myself with positive endorphins and had a lot of fun to boot.
The point of all this is that each of us at every moment is free to choose what we believe, think, and feel about our experiences. Doing so consciously and positively can pay big dividends when it comes to managing stress.
Setting Realistic Goals
It’s quite possible to subject yourself to stress simply by setting unrealistic goals for yourself. Pioneering stress researcher Hans Selye, M.D., pointed out that overly ambitious goals and personal objectives that exceed a person’s experience and skills commonly increase stress. He also advised limiting stressful situations to more manageable times whenever possible. To this I would add that it’s important to honestly examine the goals we set for ourselves. Have you chosen your goals because they are congruent with who you truly are and they something you truly want to accomplish? Or have you set them because of social pressures, for example, fitting into a societal norm? If the latter, you might want to rethink such goals to see if you would be better off discarding them.
A Progressive Relaxation Exercise
Whene/ver you notice that you are under stress, the following exercise can help you restore a sense of ease and well-being.
Find a quiet place with soft lightning. Sit in a comfortable chair, with your eyes closed and your feet flat on the ground.
Become aware of your breathing. Take a few deep breaths and mentally say “Relax,” each time you exhale. Do this for a few moments.
Then become aware of your facial muscles, noticing any stress in them and in and around your eyes. Create a mental picture of this tension-such as a rope tied in a knot, or a clenched fist-and them imagine ease flowing into whatever picture you’ve created. If you imagined the knotted rope, for instance, imagine it untied and setting comfortably.
As you do so, also allow yourself to experience the feeling of your face and eyes becoming relaxed, and feel a wave of relaxation spreading throughout your body.
Tense your eyes and face, squeezing tightly, then relax and again feel the relaxation spreading through you as a wave of soothing energy.
Do the same with the rest of your body, moving down from your face and eyes, to your jaw, neck, shoulders, back, upper and lower arms, hands, chest, abdomen, thighs, calves, ankles, feet, toes. Mentally picture the tension in each part of your body as you tense it, then picture the tension melting away as you relax each body part. Do this until every part of your body is relaxed.
Rest quietly in this relaxed state for an additional 2-5 minutes, then, still breathing freely and deeply, slowly open your eyes and continue with your day’s activities, feeling refreshed and relaxed.
More next issue.
Note: Some of the above was adapted from Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, 2nd edition, edited an co-authored by Larry Trivieri, Jr. (Celestial Arts, 2002)
Unabashed Plug
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The Power of A Human Spirit - A Tribute to My Sister (Part 9)
[The first 8 parts of this article appeared in issues 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of Volume 1, and issue 1, Volume 2 of The Health Plus Letter, all of which are available at http://www.1healthyworld.com/ezine.]
The dawn of 2002 brought with it a new ally in Andrea’s journey through cancer - Bebe, a healing spirit in the guise of a Yorkshire terrier. Never have I met a more loveable dog! Andrea found him at a New York City kennel and took to him at once, and from the moment she brought him home, they became inseparable. She took him everywhere, even shopping, bundling him in her arms as she went about making her selections, and the joy he brought her was obvious from the start.
I met Bebe when I next visited Andrea in March of that year. Even though by nature I am more of a cat person, I took to him instantly. He was such a ball of energy and showered me with attention, as if eager to make my acquaintance. Getting him was the best thing she could have done for herself, I told Andrea, and she definitely agreed.
It was only my second trip to New York since 9/11, and I was happy to see how much the city had regained its sense of normalcy. Andrea confirmed that was the case, adding, “Nothing can keep this city down. That’s why I love living her.” As she said that, I smiled, knowing she had just described herself, as well, which was why her moving there had been so appropriate. That night, I treated her, our brother Michael, and some friends to a wonderful meal at an Italian bistro in the heart of Greenwich Village, that Andrea insisted we go to. I was concerned beforehand, knowing that her ongoing chemotherapy was causing digestive problems for her, but she was adamant. “You’ll love the place, and I’m fine, so we’re going,” she said, so we did. It was a festive evening of great food and great conversation, punctuated by lots of laughter, and it was after midnight before we returned home. I went to bed that night relieved that Andrea truly did seem to be healthy.
By the end of my visit, two days later, though, I began to have my doubts. Though she did her best to hide it - as she always did whenever I was around her; no matter what she was going through, she ne/ver wanted me to worry - I could tell her energy was flagging and also noticed for the first time that she appeared slightly bloated. But she insisted she was fine, just a little tired from “overdoing it.” With that, she changed the subject, telling me how much she’d enjoyed my visit. We hugged each other and I said goodbye, promising I’d visit her again soon. Once on the street, as I walked the few blocks to where I would hail a taxi, I suddenly knew she was watching me. Sure enough, I turned around to look up at her window, and there she was, holding Bebe. We waved at each other and then I was on my way home, unable to shake the foreboding I had that her cancer was returning.
[Continued next issue.]
Unabashed Plug
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Reader Feedback (Why I Can’t Provide Medical Advice)
I received the following email from Shirley P., soliciting my advice:
“Dear Larry: I have two things to ask of you. 1) I have a friend who is having problems and her immune system. She has human herpes virus 6 and also the Epstein Barr Virus. What would you recommend for her to take that could build her immune system up? Her doctors suggested that she take allegra and that with allegra she could kill 2 birds with one stone. Is Allegra safe for her to take? Sure could use your help on this one.
“ 2) I am in my Golden Years and have been taken off my Ogen hormone pill. Is there something I can take that would give me the sense of well being that Ogen provided and yet be a natural product? Would deeply appreciate your thoughts and insights on this one.”
This is my reply to Shirley:
“Dear Shirley -- thank you for taking the time to write me. Unfortunately, due to the fact that I am not a physician, I am le/gally prohibited from offering medical advice. I suggest both you and your friend seek out a holistic physician in your area, if you can find one. (To conduct a search, see the practitioner directories located at either www.acam.org or www.alternativemedicine.com. Go with the former if listings are available in your region, as they do more due diligence in checking our practitioners.) In your own case, I would also recommend you consider reading the works of Dr. John Lee (search for his books on amazon.com).
I have never heard of Allegra being prescribed for your friend's conditions.
I'm sorry that I cannot be more helpful, but such is the state of affairs in our country that I can be fined up to $250,000 for providing you with a more specific response.”
The last sentence of my reply is no exaggeration, as said fines have gone into effect as of the 1st of this year, imposed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on any health-related website they deem is offering irresponsible information. One of their intended ploys is to send website owners such as myself emails very similar to the one I received from Shirley above. Were I to reply to same with specific medical advice (it doesn’t matter whether or not it happens to be accurate - and for the record, I know of a number of viable safe and natural options both Shirley and her friend could potentially benefit from), in the FTC’s eyes I would be guilty of practicing medicine without a license. That being the case, I must ask that you please don’t email me asking for medical advice. Instead, as I directed Shirley, seek out a holistic physician.
Recommendations
Websites:
http://www.drugintel.com - an excellent site documenting the many health risks posed by pharmaceutical drugs. (I found the statistics cited in Fast Facts above there.)
